21 Mar 2017
QUANG NAM Vietjet Air is seeking Ministry of Transport’s permission to embark on a massive upgrade of Chu Lai Airport in Quang Nam province.
Saigon Times media reported the airline was seeking approval to conduct a pre-feasibility study that would give the airport a new passenger terminal with a capacity of 4 to 5 million passengers.
Vietjet has joined hands with the US Parsons Corporation to compile a four-phase plan.
In the first phase, until 2020, a terminal would be built with an annual capacity of 4 to 5 million passengers. The existing runways and parallel taxiways would be expanded to handle large aircraft.
In the second phase (2020 to 2025), the passenger terminal would be extended to accommodate 8 to 10 million passengers a year. In this stage, the aprons would be expanded.
In the third phase (2025 to 2030), two other hangars would be built, with an accompanying system of taxiways and parking slots.
In the final phase (after 2030), Vietjet would construct a second runway to the east and a second passenger terminal with a capacity of 10 million passengers per year, along with new hangars, cargo terminal and logistical area in the northwest.
If approved, Vietjet claims it would start work on the first passenger terminal by the end of 2017 and have it completed by the end of 2018. The timeline is overly optimistic.